The Haunted Smial
by Aria Breuer
Summary: "We're not really remodeling this smial?" Pippin asked, nervous. "This place might have cobwebs." "Come on! What are you afraid of?" Frodo shook his head. "It's not that bad." "Usually, I'm the one who says this." Merry said, holding onto a hammer. "Come on. Let's get to work." Inspired by The Jade Raven of Rivendell's fanfic All Hallow's Eve.


**Disclaimers:** I do not own _The Lord of the Rings_. J.R.R. Tolkien does.

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Hi. :) Okay, so this fanfic is actually inspired by numerous tales involving haunted houses. I just thought I'd add my touch to it. And yes, welcome to October 2017. :)

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Frodo Baggins wasn't normally one to get scared. Sure, he had experiences with scary things. Okay, maybe there were a few times when he was frightened by Farmer Maggot. But coming to a creepy smial was not on his top ten list. The place needed some work. And who better to help him with the remodeling than his best friends Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took and Samwise Gamgee.

"We're not really remodeling this smial?" Pippin asked, nervous. "This place might have cobwebs."

"Come on! What are you afraid of?" Frodo shook his head. "It's not that bad."

"Usually, I'm the one who says this." Merry said, holding onto a hammer. "Come on. Let's get to work."

"Mr. Frodo," Sam said, "are you sure this house is safe?"

"Oh, come on, Sam. I'm not going to turn dark lord on you." Frodo said, smiling.

"I don't know." Sam said, following him indoors.

The smial did need a lot of work. Loose floorboards scattered the area. There were cobwebs with living spiders creeping on the walls and in the corners. Even some of the windows were broken, with the pieces of glass chipped and scattered across the floors.

Frodo moved into one of the rooms to do a little digging. His shovel crashed into something heavy. It was a buried chest, now unburied and opened. Inside the chest were three small skeletons. Hobbit children. How did they find their way inside the chest?

No. He needed to leave. Wait. What was that sound? No! There was a cloaked man standing before the door. He smiled that creepy smile. Frodo wanted to leave this room, but couldn't. The man turned into a shadow, enveloping his body until he could move no more. His eyes closed, if only for a second. Frodo was changing in so many ways. And yet, he stayed the same shape physically, but inside was a terrifying nightmare.

He opened his eyes at last. He was inside the smial, but it was dark and disturbing. There were shadows everywhere, playing with his mind. If only he could see what he was doing. Maybe Sam would help him, help him get out of this nightmare! Oh no! SAM!

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Sam busied himself with one of the walls. The bricks fell down in several places. He picked up a loose brick and then slammed it into the frame. It didn't work. The brick popped out on its own, landing in the paint bucket. Yellow paint splashed all over his clothes.

"Oh, I just washed these!" He said, annoyed. "Well, at least it can't get any worse?"

Wait! What was that squeaky sound? Maybe if he just turned around… there was a giant shrew staring at him with fiery eyes! He screamed. Oh, it did get worse! Now, he needed to shake this shrew off. He moved this way. The shrew followed him. He moved that way. The shrew moved up close to him, throwing him against the wall. It was coming straight for him… NO! NOOO!

Sam woke up. What a horrid dream. Time to get that brick up on the wall… hey! Why were there so many shadows encroaching the area? What were they doing?

"Frodo! Merry! Pippin! Where are you?" Sam charged out of the room, not staying there for another second.

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Merry chipped off some old paint on the wall by the fireplace. So far, so good. No shrews, no shadows playing tag. Not that he asked for shadows and shrews. He hardly thought of it. No. Everything was good. Why was the fireplace lit up? He didn't do this. No. There was something burning inside.

A horrid face, smiling wickedly at him.

Oh no! "I need to tell Frodo. He's the one that started this. Whoa!" He spun around. The doors closed all around him. Great! Perfect. He threw his chipper on the floor. The shadows glided into the smiling flames.

"Where's Pippin when I need him?"

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Pippin reached the second floor of the smial. There was a long corridor, leading into a ballroom. Nothing bad. Now, if he just entered the room… he found specters, pearly-white and dead, floating around. They were chatting about the lives they lost. Their food smelled dead. There were so many rats and shrews in this room.

"Oh no." He said, concerned. "I need to find my friends." He scampered off, straight down to the first floor. There were voices and the all the doors were closed, except for the front door. Why would the front door be opened?

"Pippin, you out there! I'm trapped!" Merry's voice protruded behind one of the doors.

Pippin rushed forward, turning the knob. The door didn't budge. He shoved into the wood, causing it to open. He smiled, if only for a moment. Merry ran out of the room, annoyed.

"Don't do that again!" Merry huffed. "Don't leave me alone!"

"Why? What happened, Merry?" Pippin asked, confused. How did his cousin end up trapped in that room? How? It was unthinkable… unless something wanted them to stay in this smial.

"We need to find Sam and Frodo. This house is not safe." Merry said, trembling.

"I just saw ghosts upstairs." Pippin admitted, pointing to the stairway.

"Let's just leave this house. Now." Merry said, heading towards the front door.

"Where is Sam and Frodo?" Pippin asked, searching the house again. He looked back once to see Merry chase after him. They weren't about to leave their friends behind. Where were they? What mischief did they get themselves into? He had to find out.

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For a moment, Sam saw nothing but darkness. Candles lit up on their own. This whole house was a nightmare. He needed to find Mr. Frodo and get out of here. But would he find him and his friends again? Where were they?

"Looking for me?" Frodo's voice echoed in next room. Sam entered this room, stunned to see Frodo caught in the shadows. His blue eyes shown blood red and his face panicked. "I knew you would come. Welcome." He smiled a wicked smile.

"Mr. Frodo, this isn't you. We must leave!" Sam told him, worried.

"Leave?" Frodo chuckled, sinisterly. "Why would we leave?"

"Sam! There you are!" Merry cried, rushing into the room. The gardener was pushed forward by Pippin, who bumped into him.

"What's happened?" Pippin asked, confused.

"Mr. Frodo's not himself. It's this place." Sam said, worried. He turned to Frodo, who was still smiling in a wicked manner. "Mr. Frodo, this isn't you. You need to snap out of it."

"Frodo? I know no Frodo. Frodo's gone! And you're all alone." Frodo cackled. "Enjoy your stay!" He vanished in the thunderstorm.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam cried out, terrified. Frodo was gone. Mr. Frodo was gone. No. Wait! The shadow returned, carrying Frodo in the air. "Let him go! Let Mr. Frodo GO!"

"You'll have to catch me first." Shadow Frodo said, cackling.

"This won't work." Merry said, annoyed. "What will repel this monster?"

"Hey! Here's a book." Pippin said, opening a hardbound book.

The trick worked. The shadow released Frodo, allowing the hobbit a little room to stand. His blue eyes returned, shook up and frightened. Sam rushed over to him, helping his master to his feet. Hot sweat poured down Mr. Frodo's face, while his hands shook violently.

"You're all clammy." Sam said, pulling him back downstairs. "Let's get you out of here."

"I was possessed, Sam. What happened to me?" Frodo asked, trembling.

"I don't know." Pippin said, shaking his head.

"Let's just leave." Merry added, heading towards the front door.

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The front door slammed shut, leaving the four hobbits trapped inside the house. The shadows moved about them, terrifying them. They couldn't leave. They had to. This whole house was too creepy to even live in.

"Look! The door!" Frodo cried. The front door moved in and out. "I'm not staying here another second!" He rushed through the threshold, landing square on his face. He sighed in relief when Sam and Merry helped him to his feet. He looked once to see Pippin rush towards them. He shook his head. "No. This place is too scary."

"Time to leave." Merry said.

"Yes." Frodo said, still shaken. He was relieved when he returned to Bag End, taking time to cool down. He never should have convinced his friends to explore a haunted house. He didn't want to do that again. No sir!

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Thanks for reading. :)


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